The Oklahoma City Thunder surprised a great number of people when they ultimately held onto all three of their selections in the 2026 NBA Draft, selecting Aday Mara, Bennett Stirtz, and Otega Oweh over the course of the two-day event.
The selections on their own all make sense. Mara has the size and the athleticism to have a projection as a long-term center of the future in Oklahoma City. Stirtz has the ball-handling and perimeter shooting abilities to immediately provide valuable depth for the Thunder's backcourt. Oweh has some polishing to do of his offensive game, but his upside as a 3-and-D wing can't be ignored.
Combined with their signing of Josh Dix as an undrafted free agent, the Thunder have infused a measure of developable young talent into their existing core.
But now, even with the departures of Luguentz Dort, Aaron Wiggins, and Isaiah Joe this offseason via trade, the margins of the roster are razor thin. Each of these young pieces, including last year's lottery selection Thomas Sorber, will need to quickly prove they can provide value to this team— or they'll need to be sacrificed for the constant influx of draft capital that seems to keep pouring into Oklahoma City.
Of these pieces, though, perhaps none is under more pressure than Brooks Barnhizer to prove his developmental upside. Barnhizer is one of three players currently on a two-way deal for the Thunder, and as of now, he'll likely be the first to go when roster turnover necessitates it.
Brooks Barnhizer needs to prove he's more than just a score-first guard in his sophomore season
As rough as the Thunder's summer league team was to watch at times, Barnhizer presented a sort of silver lining with his performance. Across seven appearances, he averaged 11.9 points, 9.6 rebounds, and 2.6 assists while shooting 41.1% from the field. Although he was highly inconsistent, he looked more confident than almost any player on the floor in most of Oklahoma City's matchups.
That stretch of games didn't reveal anything we didn't already know about Barnhizer, though. He can score the ball and get to his spots on the floor against weaker defenders, and he's more than capable of creating offense with the ball in his hands.
But he's an inefficient, mid-range dominant shooter, and his perimeter scoring, off-ball capabilities, and defensive acumen leave much to be desired.
His role was limited last season with the Thunder—he averaged 8.7 minutes across 40 games—and things likely won't shape up any differently for the former second-round selection in 2026-27.
But he's entering a competition this season against both Oweh and Dix to stick on next year's roster. Whether that's waged at the NBA level or in the G-League is of no major consequence. Both of those players have clear upside as defenders and off-ball shooters, and that's what's needed to function as a role player in this Thunder system.
Oklahoma City also has as many as three first-round selections next season, one of which may ultimately be swapped for a second-round pick and future draft capital. With the way this organization continues to operate, don't be surprised if we have a new influx of two-way talent at this time next year.
Barnhizer needs to not only advance his game, but position himself as the Thunder's most reliable two-way piece ahead of Oweh and Dix. If he doesn't accomplish that goal, don't be surprised if he's left searching for a new home next offseason.
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